page_title: 2015 La Flèche Wallonne
section_title: Pre-race favourites
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 La Flèche Wallonne / Pre-race favourites
caption_attribution_description: RR Men's Elite
context_page_description: The 2015 La Flèche Wallonne was the 79th edition of the La Flèche Wallonne one-day cycling classic. It took place on 22 April and was the twelfth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. La Flèche Wallonne is the second of the three Ardennes classics; it comes three days after the Amstel Gold Race and four days before the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The defending champion in the race was Alejandro Valverde.
  The race took place on a 205.5-kilometre route that started in Waremme and ends in Huy. The key aspect of La Flèche Wallonne is the climb of the Mur de Huy, which is crossed three times during the race; the finishing line is at the top of the final climb of the Mur. The race typically suits both puncheurs and climbers. La Flèche Wallonne had added importance in 2015 because the second stage of the 2015 Tour de France was also scheduled to finish on the Mur, so several riders rode the race as preparation.
  Despite the addition of an additional climb late in the race, a group formed at the base of the Mur. Valverde won his third victory on the climb, with Julian Alaphilippe second and Michael Albasini third; Valverde went on to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège as well.
context_section_description: Recent editions of the race have been decided with attacks on the Mur de Huy. The addition of the Côte de Cherave, however, added an unknown factor into the race: it was considered much more likely than in previous years that a group of riders could break away from the peloton on the penultimate climb and hold an advantage to the finish line. No breakaway had won La Flèche Wallonne since 2003.
  The strongest favourite for the race victory was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), who was the defending champion and who had also won the race in 2006. Valverde had shown good form by coming second in the Amstel Gold Race behind Michał Kwiatkowski (Etixx–Quick-Step); Valverde was expected to have an advantage on the steep climb of the Mur, though Kwiatkowski was still among the favourites for victory.
  Three other former winners entered the 2015 race. These were Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), who had won the race in 2011; Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha), who had won in 2012; and Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha), who had won in 2013. All of there were well suited to the steep final climb. Other riders considered to have a chance of victory included Dan Martin (Cannondale–Garmin), Sergio Henao (Team Sky) and several other climbers and puncheurs.
  Because the third stage of the 2015 Tour de France was scheduled to finish on exactly the same roads, several riders who were aiming at success there rode La Flèche Wallonne as preparation. These included Chris Froome (Team Sky), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team).
caption: Michał Kwiatkowski, photographed here after winning the 2014 World Championships, was one of the favourites for race victory
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